(Ascendant Cancer with Pluto conjunct the Ascendant and rising;
MC in Pisces; Sun conjunct Uranus, both in Aries and both conjunct the
NN, also in Aries; Moon is Sagittarius conjunct Vertex also in Sagittarius;
Venus in Pisces conjunct the Part of Fortune; Mercury in Taurus; Mars
in Leo; Jupiter in Cancer; Saturn in Capricorn, H7; Neptune in Virgo)

Richard Alpert, also known as Baba Ram Dass was one of the
more popular educators, authors and teachers of spirituality during
the latter part of the twentieth century. He was academically trained
at various universities in the United States and became a professor
of psychology at Harvard University. There, he and his friend Timothy
Leary were involved in psychological experiments with hallucinogens,
for which both lost their positions. Alpert and Leary continued their
experimentation with psychedelics but eventually ended their partnership.
Alpert travelled to India where he met a guru who influenced him deeply.
He took a new name, Baba Ram Dass, which means “servant of God”
in Hindi. From his new life-perspective he began to see the use of psychedelic
drugs as superficial and discontinued such experimentation. As his knowledge
of Eastern and Western spirituality deepened, and as his books were
published, Baba Ram Dass, himself, became a kind of ‘guru’
to those in the West who sought a deeper meaning in life.

A
Summary of Points to Bear in Mind when Interpreting
the Astrological Chart of Richard Alpert/Baba Ram Dass

a.From
the nature of his writing and teaching it is clear that Baba Ram Dass
is a soul focussed on the second ray of Love-Wisdom. His writings radiate
the wisdom of the East and he speaks for deeper understanding, tolerance,
service and virtues which emerge from a realization of oneness.

b.The
major distributor for the second ray in his chart is the opposition
between Neptune (planet of the “Solar Flames”, in second
ray Virgo) and sometime second ray Venus in the sign of its exaltation,
second ray Pisces. Pisces and Virgo also distribute the sixth ray, contributing
to his reputation for activism.

c.The
Venus Neptune opposition confers great sensitivity and compassion and
would be a strong conduit for second ray soul energies.

d.The
second ray planet Jupiter is in the sign of its exaltation, Cancer and
in the twelfth house resonant with second ray/sixth ray Pisces. While
Jupiter is not rising in the conventional sense, it is fairly close
to the Ascendant and as the “soul ray planet” is powerful.

e.Jupiter
is in a reasonable trine aspect with Venus, emphasizing soul consciousness.
Venus is placed in a Jupiterian sign (Pisces) and in a Jupiterian house,
the ninth. This aspect contributes to Baba Ram Dass’ exploration
in the realms of higher consciousness.

f.Two planets of the heart, Jupiter in Cancer and Neptune
in Virgo are in a fairly close septile aspect, uniting them in a ‘fated’
relationship.

g.Clearly,
Baba Ram Dass is well equipped to represent the second ray of Love-Wisdom

h.As
his Sun is in Aries, there are probably strong elements of both the
fourth and sixth rays in his personality demonstration. Sixth ray Mars
(placed if first ray/fifth ray Leo), is the exoteric ruler of Aries
and fourth ray Mercury (placed in fourth ray Taurus) is the esoteric
ruler.

i.Judging from his activism and his devotion to his guru
and to the cause of enlightenment, the sixth ray is a reasonable choice
for the personality ray, but it cannot be conclusively stated to be
so as there are many fourth ray elements also present.

j.Significantly, the Sun is conjunct revolutionary, experimental
Uranus, contributing to Alpert’s early rebellion against conventionality
(especially in matters of consciousness). He defied Harvard’s
policy with respect to drug experimentation, and became a spokesperson
for the transformation of consciousness.

k.Aries
is the sign of pioneering and Uranus the planet of the “new and
better way”. Thus Richard Alpert/Baba Ram Dass emerged as a leading
pioneer in first the American and later the global “Consciousness
Movement”. As these two planets are placed in his tenth house,
this type of pioneering work became his real profession. Someone less
spiritually attuned could simply have used a lower vibration of Uranus
and continued with orthodox psychological experimentation. It is likely
that there is quite a bit of the fifth ray in the mental body of Baba
Ram Dass. At least, it appears that that vehicle was initially focussed
on the fifth ray.

l.As spiritual progress continued and as the buddhic plane
was accessed through Neptune (the esoteric rulers of the Cancer Ascendant),
there would naturally be more opportunity for the fourth ray to enter
the concrete mind. We note that Mercury (a planet associated with both
the concrete mind and the buddhi/intuitive mind, as well as the abstract
mind) is in the fourth ray sign Taurus.

m.The
Ascendant is Cancer, in Baba Ram Dass’ case, ruled not only by
the exoteric Moon (in adventurous Sagittarius) but by transcendental
Neptune in Virgo in the third house. The Moon position, considered exoterically,
gave him an early taste for fast cars and, in general, speed. The exoteric
interpretation of Cancer leads to attachment (even attachment to the
past as evidence in his early love of antiques). But the Sagittarian
Moon was also present in the case of Einstein and other adventurers
in consciousness and the mind. It can be read as a spiritual position,
giving an innate inclination for spiritual quests—earlier interpreted
in terms of psychedelic “trips”.

n.The
Moon, in this case, will be veiling transcendental Neptune or experimental
Uranus, and maybe both on various occasions. It is in a kind of grand
trine with Mars and Juno, and by “translation of light”
the Sun/Uranus conjunction is involved. All this conferred fire and
enthusiasm in Baba Ram Dass’ pursuits—and first secular
and later sacred. We do see the Sagittarian Moon very “low”
by declination (the planet most “out of bounds”, i.e., beyond
the highest or lowest point in declination reached by the Sun). This
makes the Moon powerful and, therefore, a focus for transmutation.

o.The
“Lunar Lords” are ruled by Sagittarius and Mars. When, in an advanced
soul, the Moon is placed in Sagittarius, the possibility of harnessing
the Lunar Lords to the life of aspiration is very great. In the case
of Baba Ram Dass, the elevation of these energies is a strong possibility.
Issues concerning the second initiation are involved in such dynamics.
The revelations for which he has been responsible, however, concern
more the consciousness of the third initiation.

p.The
Cancer Ascendant blended with the second ray soul is, of course, vitally
important, providing a strong streak of nurturance. This has
been demonstrated in Baba Ram Dass’ attitude as a teacher (his
book, “How Can I Help”, 1985) and in practical living through
his nurturing care of his ailing father. Cancer is a major protective
and protecting energy, especially when combined with the second ray.
Neptune is usually considered a sixth ray planet, and Virgo is a sixth
ray sign, so a powerful sixth ray is thereby indicated. However, on
a higher turn of the spiral, Neptune is, monadically, a second ray planet
and Virgo the most powerful constellational distributor of the second
ray at this time. So we see that given the position of Neptune
in Virgo, the second ray soul potentials have an excellent instrument
of expression.

q.The
placement of Neptune in the third house is important, because the third
house represents the lower mind, and Neptune, access to the intuitive
plane, fourth ray buddhi. In the charts of those of small mentality,
Neptune in the third can simply indicate confused perception and vague
mental expression. But Baba Ram Dass' mentality is high (in both Western
and Eastern terms) and so it is likely than much buddhic-intuition energy
expresses even through his concrete thoughts and statements.

r.Virgo is usually associated with the gestation of the
“Christ Consciousness”. Alpert is, perhaps, more Hindu or
Buddhist by practice and persuasion (though certainly very capable of
realizing the meaning of the Christ Consciousness and its relation to
states of awareness promoted in the classical Hindu and Buddhist literature.
When looking at some of the deeper results of his work, we can see it
as the stimulation of soul-consciousness (i.e., Christ Consciousness)
within many spiritual seekers in the West.

s.The
obvious stream of nurturance which runs through his life demonstration
is furthered by the presence of the nurturing asteroid Ceres in Libra,
the sign of peace and right human relationships, placed in the fourth
house of home and parenting. Through this influence there is indicated
a capacity to bring peace and harmony to the lunar realm of personality.

t.But, clearly there were also struggles, as a powerful
T-Square between the Cancer Ascendant, Saturn at the cusp of the seventh
house in Capricorn, and the Sun/Uranus conjunction in Aries (as the
short leg of the T-Square). It is clear that Baba Ram Dass (presumably
in his earlier days) was possessed of considerable “ego”,
self-assurance, the sense of “being right”. Mars in Leo
can confer personality authority and egoism and the Moon in Sagittarius,
impatience with slow movement. He would have had the tendency to get
carried away with his enthusiasms, moving forward without being considerate.
But Cancer and Capricorn call for quite different virtues. Cancer is
sensitive and receptive and Saturn in Capricorn at the seventh would
give a ready tendency towards cool abstraction in relationship—a
ready detachment (akin to a monkish approach).

u.This
T-Square would be hard to reconcile. Perhaps Saturnian detachment would
enter and check the urgent, inspired enthusiasms of Sun/Uranus in Aries,
tempering them, so that the greater sensitivity of the Cancer Ascendant
can emerge.

v.Saturn
in Capricorn seems reflective of earlier incarnations of detachment.
It is reported that Baba Ram Dass has struggled with issues of sexuality,
alternating between celibacy (Saturn in Capricorn at the seventh) and
bi-sexuality (encouraged by Sun conjunct Uranus—planet of rebellion
against the conventional, and Juno in Aries {heated by the Leo Mars
and Sagittarius Moon}, inclining one to plunge into relationship). Ascendant,
Pluto and Mars are all within a few degrees parallel to each other (by
declination), and so a powerful complex of sexual energies is presented,
but one, as well, which holds deep transformative possibilities. Surely
Baba Ram Dass knows what is to be done with the sexual energy in terms
of the elevation of consciousness. Pluto rising at the Ascendant can
lead one deeply into those energies, but also lead to their transmutation
and elevation—their consecration to higher purposes.

w.The
“fixed stars” tell an interesting story, but one would want to be very
certain of the birth time before association these factors (generally
given an orb of only a degree or so) with any of the “angles” of the
chart. The Sun is closely parallel Bellatrix which gives an outspoken
nature and also, according to Brady, “confrontation with the shadow”—in
this case, his own (as the shadows of spiritual teachers are usually
considerable) and that of others. Mercury parallels Denebola, called
the “Changer”, giving changes which are out of step with present social
trends. This we can certainly see. Jupiter, the planet of expanding
consciousness, is closely parallel to Hamal, star of strength, independence
and even aggression. We can read it as forcefulness in the field of
consciousness. Uranus is parallel the star Procyon—rapid action and
short-lived opportunities. Added to Aries this would give a vision of
possibilities and a tendency to act quickly on them. Gains, however
would not abide. The MC is conjunct the star, Scheat (considered by
some unfortunate) but related to free-thinkers and those who dare to
think the impossible. Again this is a very suitable placement.

v.Physical Etheric Ray: closer personal contact would be required
to determine this. Aries often inclines towards the third ray through
its activism. But all three signs holding the seventh ray are powerful
and active (Aries, Cancer and Capricorn), and so the seventh ray cannot
be dismissed.

y.It
is always difficult to speculate about the monadic ray (which is the
primary ray). Most people are not in much position to express it, and
only a Master can really be sure. But Baba Ram Dass' revelations
do pertain to monadic realization (at least in part). It is the task
of the initiate of the third degree (and those who are aspiring to the
third degree) to reveal oneness. This he has done, thus indicating
the influence of the monad somewhat significant.

z.The
Monadic Point is found opposite the Sun-sign, Aries, thus in Libra.
Libra has its third ray side, but, probably, a more advanced second
ray side. Baba Ram Dass message seems very buddhic. Really it is a function
of buddhi-manas. He has transcended lower manas, per se. He is interested
in the infusion of manas with buddhi, as his writings demonstrate.

aa.The Libra position
of the Monadic Point (the heliocentric position of Earth) is capable
of expressing either the third ray or the second. Inherently, there
is plenty of intelligence evident in Baba Ram Dass’ life. It would
seem that the deeper emphasis at this time is the expression of Love-Wisdom,
or (in terms of Libra), “Divine Love” and “Understanding”
(EA 333).

Be
open to all teachers And all teachings, And listen with your heart.
(Venus in Pisces in 9th house sextile Mercury.)

People do
not know what the Name of God can do. Those who repeat it constantly
alone know its power. It can purify our mind completely... The Name
can take us to the summit of spiritual experience.
(Mercury in Taurus.)

Place yourself
as an instrument in the hands of God, who does his own work in his own
way.

Be patient.
The path of self-discipline that leads to God-realization is not an
easy path: obstacles and sufferings are on the path; the latter you
must bear, and the former overcome -- all by His help. His help comes
only through concentration. Repetition of God's name helps concentration.
(Saturn in Capricorn conjunct Descendant opposition Pluto in Cancer.)

We have to
take the whole universe as the expression of the one Self. Then only
our love flows to all beings and creatures in the world equally.
(Jupiter conjunct Ascendant square Nodes.)

Just as a
flower gives out its fragrance to whomsoever approaches our uses it,
so love from within us radiates towards everybody and manifests as spontaneous
service.

All spiritual
disciplines are done with a view to still the mind. The perfectly still
mind is universal spirit.
(Venus in Pisces in 9th house opposition Neptune in 3rd house. Neptune
trine Mercury.)

Caring is
a reflex... You live, you help.
(Cancer Ascendant. Venus in Pisces. Jupiter in Cancer. Neptune in Virgo
in 2nd house.)

Baba
Ram Dass at the Hanuman Temple in Taos, New Mexico, September 2004Dr.
Richard Alpert (born April 6, 1931), later known as Baba Ram Dass, was
a professor of psychology at Harvard University who became well known
for his controversial research program which studied the effects of
LSD. He later converted to Hinduism and is currently one of the most
prominent American Hindus. He was born to a prominent Jewish family
in Boston, Massachusetts. His father, George Alpert, was one of Boston's
most prominent lawyers and was also a railroad executive. Richard Alpert
has two older brothers. He received a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Tufts
University, a masters' degree from Wesleyan University and a doctorate
degree from Stanford University.

Alpert worked
closely with Dr. Timothy Leary at Harvard, where the two conducted many
experiments on the effects of LSD. The pair were dismissed from the
university in 1963 due to their controversial research on the Harvard
Psilocybin Project. They relocated, and continued their experiments
at a private mansion in New York (see LSD).

In 1967, Alpert
travelled to India, where he became heavily involved in meditative practice
and yoga. After meeting and becoming a devotee of Neem Karoli Baba,
a Hindu guru in Uttar Pradesh, he changed his name to Baba Ram Dass,
meaning servant of God.

Upon his return
to the United States, Alpert founded several organizations dedicated
to expanding spiritual awareness and promoting spiritual growth. In
February 1997, he suffered a stroke which left him with expressive aphasia,
but he continues to give lectures at a variety of places.

Richard Alpert
(Baba Ram Dass) was born in 1931. His father, George, a lawyer, helped
to found Brandeis University and was President of the New York, New
Haven & Hartford Railroad. Baba Ram Dass studied psychology, specializing
in human motivation and personality development. He received an M.A.
from Wesleyan and a Ph.D. from Stanford. He then served on the psychology
faculties at Stanford and the University of California, and from 1958
to 1963 taught and researched in the Department of Social Relations
and the Graduate School of Education at Harvard University. During this
period he co-authored (with Sears and Rau) the book Identification and
Child Rearing, published by Stanford University Press.

In 1961,
while at Harvard, Baba Ram Dass' explorations of human consciousness
led him, in collaboration with Timothy Leary, Ralph Metzner, Aldous
Huxley, Allen Ginsberg, and others, to pursue intensive research with
psilocybin, LSD-25, and other psychedelic chemicals. Out of this research
came two books:The Psychedelic Experience (co-authored by Leary and
Metzner, and based on The Tibetan Book of the Dead, published by University
Books); and LSD (with Sidney Cohen and Lawrence Schiller, published
by New American Library). Because of the controversial nature of this
research, Baba Ram Dass was dismissed from Harvard in 1963.

Baba Ram Dass
continued his research under the auspices of a private foundation until
1967. In that year he traveled to India, where he met his Guru (spiritual
teacher), Neem Karoli Baba. Baba Ram Dass studied yoga and meditation,
and received the name Baba Ram Dass, which means "servant of God."
Since 1968, he has pursued a variety of spiritual practices, including
guru kripa; devotional yoga focused on the Hindu spiritual figure Hanuman;
meditation in the Theravadin, Mahayana Tibetan, and Zen Buddhist schools;
karma yoga; and Sufi and Jewish studies.

Alpert continued
his research under the auspices of a private foundation until 1967,
when he traveled to India. In India, he met his guru, or spiritual teacher,
Neem Karoli Baba, affectionately known as Maharaji. Maharaji gave Baba
Ram Dass his name, which means "servant of God." Since 1968,
Baba Ram Dass has pursued a variety of spiritual methods and practices
from various ancient wisdom traditions, including devotional yoga focused
on the Hindu spiritual figure Hanuman; meditation in the Theravadin,
Mahayana Tibetan and Zen Buddhist schools; karma yoga; and Sufi and
Jewish studies. He also practices service to others as a spiritual path.

In 1974, Baba
Ram Dass created the Hanuman Foundation, which developed the Prison
Ashram Project, designed to help prison inmates grow spiritually during
their incarceration, and the Dying Project, conceived as a spiritual
support structure for conscious and dying. These projects are now directed
under independent auspices. The Baba Ram Dass Tape Library Foundation
serves as the organizing vehicle for Baba Ram Dass' teachings, and for
the distribution of his books and tapes.

Baba Ram Dass'
interests include the support of psychedelic research, international
development, environmental awareness and political action. He has written
a number of spiritual books including Be Here Now, published in 1971
(over one million copies sold, 37th printing, Crown Publishers); The
Only Dance There Is (Anchor/ Doubleday); Grist for the Mill (with Stephen
Levine, Celestial Arts); Journey of Awakening (Bantam Books); Miracle
of Love: Stories of Neem Karoli Baba (Hanuman Foundation); How Can I
Help? (with Paul Gorman, Knopf); Compassion in Action: Setting Out on
the Path of Service (with Mirabai Bush, Bell Tower Press) and Still
Here: Embracing Aging, Changing and Dying (Riverhead Books). His latest
book, One-Liners: A Mini-Manual for a Spiritual Life was published by
Bell Tower Press in September, 2002. In September, 2004, Harmony will
be publishing Baba Ram Dass' next book, entitled Paths to God: Living
the Bhagavad Gita.

In 1996, Baba
Ram Dass began to develop plans for a talk radio program called “Here
and Now with Baba Ram Dass.” Seven pilot programs were aired in
Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area, and Baba Ram Dass planned
to launch the show on a nationwide basis the following year. But in
February 1997, he experienced a stroke which left him with expressive
aphasia and partial paralysis. The after effects of the stroke have
made it necessary for him to postpone plans for his radio program, but
he has been able to resume his other teaching commitments and is using
the experience to explore the spiritual dimensions of suffering and
the nature of the aging process.

Baba Ram Dass
is a co-founder and advisory board member of the Seva Foundation, an
international service organization. He works with the Social Venture
Network, an organization of businesses seeking to bring social consciousness
to business practices. He continues to teach about the nature of consciousness,
and about service as a spiritual path.

Baba Ram Dass,
while he has an Eastern name, is much a Westerner. As Richard Alpert,
he received his Ph.D in psychology from Stanford University and taught
at Harvard, Stanford and the University of California. In the 1960's
he was active in research on consciousness with Timothy Leary, Aldous
Huxley, Alan Watts and others. In 1967 he continued this study in India,
where he was given the name Baba Ram Dass by his guru, Neem Karoli Baba.
Since that time, through books, tapes, and lectures and with a rare
combination of warmth, candor and humour he has contributed to the integration
of Eastern spiritual philosophy into western thought.

Baba Ram Dass
has authored a number of books on spiritual topics: "Be Here Now",
"The Only Dance There Is", "Grist For The Mill",
(with Stephen Levine), "Journey of Awakening", "Miracle
of Love", and, most recently, "How Can I Help?", (with
Paul Gorman). "Be Here Now" has sold nearly a million copies,
and served widely as a spiritual guide during the 1970's. "How
Can I Help?", published by Alfred Knopf in 1985, has sold over
150 000 copies and is widely used in medical and nursing schools, schools
of social work, volunteer agencies, and hospices.

In 1973 Baba
Ram Dass founded the Hanuman Foundation, which has nurtured projects
designed to increase spiritual consciousness in the west, including
work with prisoners and the dying. Baba Ram Dass is a co-founder, board
member and former chairperson of the Seva Foundation, a non-profit organization
dedicated to manifesting compassionate action to alleviate suffering
in ther world community. Seva is currently supporting programmes to
help reduce blindness in India and Nepal, to restore farm life to impoverished
villagers in Guatemala, to assist in primary health care for native
Americans and to work with the homeless population in the United States.